Diken has been a constant member of the Smithereens since 1980 but has also worked as a session drummer since the 1980s. He toured with former
Shangri-LaMary Weiss in the late 2000s[6] and has since 2014 toured with former
Kinks guitarist
Dave Davies' solo band.[9][10] On December 18, 2015, during Dave Davies’ concert at
Islington Assembly Hall in
London, Diken was drumming while
Ray Davies joined his brother Dave on stage for "
You Really Got Me". It was the first time the two Kinks had performed together in nearly 2 decades. Diken also toured with
Ronnie Spector in the late 2010s.[5]
In 2002, Diken collaborated with keyboardist
Dave Amels forming the band Husky Team, which released the album Christmas in Memphis on the Confidential Recording label.[11][12] The album consists of
instrumental Christmas songs recorded with
Memphis soul/
R&B-style
grooves.[13] In 1997, Diken and Amels had produced the track "
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" for
Ben E. King on the tribute album One Step Up/Two Steps Back: the Songs of Bruce Springsteen.[7]
Credited to "Dennis Diken with Bell Sound," Diken released the album Late Music in 2009 on
Cryptovision Records. Written and recorded with long-time friend Pete DiBella,[14] the 1960s influenced album features contributions from 1960s
girl groupthe Honeys on backing vocals, and musicians
Andy Paley and
Jason Falkner.[15] Dennis Diken with Bell Sound recorded a version of "
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" for a fund raising CD titled Super Hits of the Seventies for radio station
WFMU in 2012. Diken also recorded two singles in 2014 with the
punk rocksupergroupOsaka Popstar, "Hopping Ghosts" and "O Holy Night".[16]
^
ab"Mary Weiss". The Ponderosa Stomp. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
^
abZimmerman, Bob (October 23, 2019).
"From Jersey It Came!". Backstreets.com. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
^The Smithereens to perform 30th anniversary concert in CarteretArchived December 5, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine, Borough of Carteret, press release dated July 20, 2010. Accessed August 18, 2021. "The Smithereens are known for writing and playing catchy 1960s-influenced power pop. Guitarist Jim Babjak, drummer Dennis Diken, and former bass player Mike Mesaros graduated Carteret High School in 1975, and formed the group with Scotch Plains singer Pat DiNizio in 1980."